Envelope-opening attachment



May 18 1926. 1,584,966

w. AAB

ENVELOPE OPENING ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 8, 1924 Patented May 18, 1926.

UNIT-ED STATES WILLIAM .AAB, OF'NEW.ULM, MINNESOTA.

- ENVELOPE-OPENING ATTACHMENT.

Application filed February 8, 1924. Serial No. 691,384.

My invention relates to envelopes and provides an extremely simple and highly eflioient device whereby the envelope may be very quickly opened without the use of a knife, tool, machine, or any other device except the attached envelope opener. The improved envelope opener may be applied to envelopes of any size or design and to any one of the several edges thereof, but

will preferably be applied to the bottom or lower edge.

Hitherto, threads, small cords, fine wires and the like, having projecting ends, have been applied to envelopes, to be used as 5 opening devices, but in such arrangements it has not been an. easy matter to always find the projecting end of the cutting thread or wire nor a very easy matter to grip and hold the same when its location has once 9 been discovered. My invention provides a decided improvement on the older schemes and comprises a cutting thread, cord or wire, herein designated generically as a cutting cable, that is placed along the edge of the 5 envelope at the interior thereof and, in cooperation therewith, one or more, preferably two, metallic clips that are applied to the exterior of the envelope at the corners thereof and anchored to the ends of the cutting cable by being clinched or otherwise connected to the cable with portions of the envelope pressed between the said clips and cable. The preferred manner of carrying out my invention is illustrated in the ac- 5 companying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective showing the improved opener applied to an envelope;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view partly in front elevation and partly in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing one corner of the envelope and a portion of the opening device;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line m 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 66 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3, but with the clip removed and with a corner portion of the envelope broken away and 66 some parts sectioned.

The envelope 8 shown is an ordinary commercial envelope. The cutting cable 9, whlch, as stated, may be a thread, small cord or a fine Wire, is laid closely along 00 the lower edge of the interior of the envelope and extends approximately from end to end thereof. Metallic clips 10, in vertical cross sections, are U-shaped but their flanges, in horizontal cross section, are corrugated, as indicated at 10", and the bowed lower portions of said clips are made tubular, as'best shown in Fig. 4 at 10. The clips are applied over the exterior corner portions of the envelope, as shown in the 7 drawings, and are clinched and given the corrugated form by power-operated dyes, or otherwise, and are thereby caused to tightly pinch the envelope and the ends of the cuttmg cable 9 into compact corrugated form 7 best shown in Fig. 5; and this, as is evident, securely anchors the clips to the ends of the cable. Preferably, the envelope will be slit at 11' for some distance inward along the upper edges of the clips, so as todetermine the initial tearing line on which the clips will be torn loose from the envelope. These slits may be produced either before or after the clips are applied, but preferably they will be produced simultaneously with the operations of clinching the clips onto the envelope corners and onto the ends of the cutting cable. Obviously, the clips applied as best shown in Fig. 5 will be firmly anchored to the cutting cable.

To open an envelope, it is only necessary to take hold of either one of the metallic clips and, by a. quick jerk, tear the same loose and cause the cuttin cable to cut its way through the edge 0 the envelope. Dotted lines in Fig. 1 illustrate this cutting action. It is important to note that with the arrangement described, when the one clip is torn loose and used as a handle with which to pull the cutting cable through the edge of the envelope, the other clip serves to keep the other end of the cable anchored so that the cable will not be pulled endwise from osition and will be caused to perform its mtended cutting function.

,The cuttin device described may be a plied to enve opes at very small cost by t e use of a properly designed automatic machine. A person receiving one of these envelo es will readily notice the exposed clips on tie exterior of the envelope corners and the obvious manner of opening the envelope will readily appear, but if desired, a brief instruction as to the manner of opening may be printed on the envelope. An opener of this kind will be found a great time saver, for the envelope can be opened by the use thereof more quickly than a person could even pick up a knife preparatory to opening an enve ope, to say nothing of the time consumed in actually opening the envelope and the further danger of damaging the contents of the envelope, which are entirely eliminated when an envelope is o ened by this improved device. The meta lic clips afiord good gripping devices, due to the fact that they are exposed to direct contact,

but the gripping action is facilitated by the corrugation of the flanges of the clips and by the rounded beads 10".

The efliciency of this device has been thoroughly demonstrated in practice.

What I claim is:

An envelope having an attached opener comprising a cutting cable extended within the envelope along one edge thereof, and a metallic clip applied to the exterior of a corner of the envelope and anchored to the adjacent end of said cutting cable, the said clip having a U-shaped cross section with its back extending longitudinally of said cable, the sides of said clip being transversely corrugated and clinched onto said envelope and cable.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM AAB. 

